


I Can Only See You

by everywinter



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 13:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16811671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everywinter/pseuds/everywinter
Summary: Jae, as a rule, doesn't like interruptions to his routine. There's exceptions to every rule and it seems that Wonpil is his.





	I Can Only See You

**Author's Note:**

> Title from [Man in a Movie - Day6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3PwECACNzQ).

The mornings at the shop are for Jae. He comes in at 5:00 a.m., two hours before the shop even opens, and sticks all of the pre-made goodies from the night before into the oven before everyone else comes in to handle the morning rush. He has it down to a science. He knows where the light switch is without looking and his phone automatically connects to the Bluetooth speakers speakers placed strategically all over the bakery. He makes his playlists the night before, and dances around to the music while he takes all the chairs down from the tables before opening the blinds in front of the giant windows. 

There’s something about the solitude that makes Jae feel relaxed and gives him an appropriate amount of time to truly wake up before he has to interact with people. Flipping on all the lights and wandering around the usually bustling building alone makes it feel a little like he’s getting a glimpse into something secret. By the time Jamie and Kevin amble into the shop, Jae’s had almost two hours to himself. He likes it that way.

Which is why it scares the ever loving shit out of him when someone tries to open the front door around 5:30. The thump of the deadlock against the frame almost makes Jae drop the confectioner’s sugar that he’s pouring into the mixer for the cream-cheese icing, and when he spins around to look, he sees a lost looking blond man blinking at the ‘closed’ sign on the glass door. He stands, dazed, for a couple moments before his head falls forward and hits the glass with another dull thump. The man’s hair is rumpled, there’s a pillow crease on his cheek, and he’s wearing glasses, sweatpants, and a hoodie with a hole in sleeve. There’s a set to his shoulders that speaks to the bone-deep exhaustion of someone who was woken way before they were ready to be brought back into consciousness, and he can’t help feeling a stab of sympathy.

Jae hesitates for a moment before wiping his hands on his apron and making his way from the open kitchen to the front door.

The man jumps away when Jae appears and opens the door. “Hey, man, you okay?”

“Fine, sorry about that, I’m still really out of it and hadn’t realized that you guys weren’t open yet.” His voice is still raspy with sleep and he clears his throat before speaking again. “My French press is broken, and I’m just really not awake yet.”

“I get it, my roommate's barely human before coffee, but yeah, we don’t open until 7…”

“I know, I saw the sign after I’d already tried the door.” He smiles sheepishly. “Sorry again to bother you.”

He’s about to walk away when Jae stops him.

“We have coffee,” He blurts out, “I mean, I’m making coffee right now. If you don’t mind waiting a couple minutes, I don’t mind you hanging around.”

Even white teeth clamp down on the man’s lower lip. “Are you sure? I don’t want to get you into trouble with your boss…”

“I am the boss,” Jae says, waving him into the store. “I’m one of the owners.”

“Thank you,” The man smiles and sneaks in past Jae, hands clenched onto the straps of his backpack. “I’m Wonpil.”

“I’m Jae.” He says, gesturing around the shop. “Sit wherever you want. I’ll let you know when the coffee’s done.”

“Do you mind if I stay here for a little bit?” Wonpil asks, sinking down into one of the chairs in front of the counter. “I promise I’ll stay out of your way.”

Jae knows he should say no, tell Wonpil to just take his coffee and go, but he finds himself nodding and telling him to stay as long as he’d like. He retreats back into the kitchen and washes his hands in a slight panic.

This is weird. This is wildly out of character for him. Sure, Wonpil doesn’t look all that threatening, but Jae doesn’t know this man. Wonpil could sneak up on him while’s pulling the cinnamon buns out of the oven, shove him in, and steal everything from the register. He could be a spy from that rival bakery four blocks down, sent to sabotage everything Jae made this morning.

He goes through the motions of setting up for the day, all the worst-case scenarios of trusting this stranger racing through his head, before he notices that the coffee’s finished. He brings a mug over to Wonpil and notices that the man’s pretty much asleep in the chair, cheek squished against his palm where he’s leaning his head against his hand, and staring blankly at the Instagram feed on his phone.

“Here, I left room for cream.” He puts the mug in front of Wonpil carefully. “It’s on the house, you look like you really need it.”

“Oh, I couldn’t!” Wonpil insists, pulling his wallet out, even as his other hand curls around the cup desperately. “I’m already making a mess of your morning by being here.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I don’t do anything but blast music and get lost in my own thoughts anyway.”

“Still…” Wonpil lifts the cup to his lips and Jae notices a crease on his face from his pillow. “You’ve been so generous already.”

“So, pay it forward or something.” Jae shrugs, “It really isn’t a problem.”

“If you insist…”

“I do.” Jae says.

Music plays in the background as Jae goes back behind the counter to pull the rest of the goods out from the oven to cool.

“Is this your playlist?” Wonpil asks, “El Condor Pasa’s a little sad for first thing in the morning.”

Jae nods. “I suppose so, but today’s Simon and Garfunkle day and I can’t exactly leave out a classic.”

“Simon and Garfunkle day?”

“Tomorrow’s Jim Croce day.” He carefully sets the scones out in the display case. “I like having a specific day for each artist.”

Wonpil more awake now and he pushes his bangs out of his face. “I didn’t peg you for an oldies guy.”

“It’s my parents’ influence. One of my first memories is of sitting in the basement, listening to Yesterday Once More, and crying to myself.” Wonpil laughs and Jae glares at him without heat. “I was a sensitive kid, and it’s a very touching song!”

“Hey,” Wonpil holds up his hands in surrender, eyes still sparkling. “no judgement. I still tear up whenever I hear Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.”

“Bro, something about John Mayer’s voice in that one is especially haunting.” He agrees, “It’s pretty much the perfect angry, breakup song.”

“Spoke to my bitter little teenage heart, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, sounds like there’s a story to be heard.”

Wonpil shrugs. “I don’t know, it was young love, and then it was young heartbreak. I’m sure most everyone has a similar story.”

“Yeah, but still unique in their own ways. How about this, quid pro quo?” He waits until Wonpil nods before continuing. “I was with this girl all through high school, she was my first girlfriend. The night before winter formal our senior year, she pulls me aside after gym class and tells me that she wants to break up because she can’t be with a guy who’s skinnier than she is, and she’s going with Matthew Kim instead.”

Wonpil winces. “Oh, that’s harsh.”

“Yeah, wasn’t good for my self-esteem. Joke’s on her though, because Matt and I are ride or die, and he was not at all impressed with the way she treated me.” Jae grins at Wonpil from behind the glass case. “He ended up taking me to the formal instead.”

He grins, absolutely delighted. “That’s amazing, a much better story than mine.”

“It was a good time. I wish that I had a picture of how red she turned when Matt gave me a big smooch, it was totally worth how uncomfortable it was.”

“Not into men?” Wonpil’s face is carefully polite.

“Not into Matt.” Jae clarifies, “I’d stab a man for him, but dude kisses like a Labrador.”

When Wonpil laughs all his teeth show and these little crinkles appear at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth, and it’s like bubbles breaking the surface of a glass of champagne.

“A very short, but telling description.”

“I love the guy, but that kiss almost made me think that I was doing my ex the favour.”

Wonpil laughs even harder and Jae feels a swell of pride at having been the source of it. “This story definitely tops mine.”

Jae leans over the counter attentively.

“Like I told you before, it really isn’t all that interesting.” Wonpil scratches his chin. “I was seeing someone for a couple months and then he got mean. We were kids, and I think he was embarrassed of me. He started teasing me about the way I dressed, the fact that I was short, skinny, too feminine, and junk like that. So, I dumped him.”

Wonpil shrugs like it doesn’t really matter, but Jae can see the lingering old hurt in his eyes.

“Fuck that guy, what a douche.” Jae declares, “Obviously, I didn’t know you in high school, but if you were anything like how you are now, he was dumber than a brick.”

“If you’re this nice to all your customers, it’s no wonder this place is so popular.”

“Maybe you’re just special.”

“No one’s ever said that to me as a compliment before.”

“Well, this is one.” Jae says, he sees the way Wonpil eyes the fruit tarts he’s putting into the display case. “Do you want one?”

“Jae, it’s 6:30 in the morning.”

“So?” He picks up one of the tarts, waves it around enticingly.

Wonpil bites his lip. “… okay.”

When Wonpil’s fork breaks through the shell, it does so with a satisfying crunch and the noise he makes when he puts it into his mouth is downright indecent. “This is amazing! How do you keep the shell from getting all soggy?”

Jae presses a finger to his lips. “Trade secret.”

Wonpil sticks out his lower lip in a pout. “I told you about my teenage heartbreak! I thought we had a connection.”

“Hey, that story was fairly traded for!” Jae laughs.

“Come on, I’ll give you a bite.”

“Dude, I made these things, I know what it tastes like.”

“But you don’t know what this specific one tastes like.” Wonpil insists, “Come on, I can’t bake to save my life, satisfy my curiosity.”

Jae rolls his eyes. “Fine. The secret’s white chocolate on the inside. It acts like a barrier against the custard.”

Wonpil smiles and holds out his forkful of tart again. Jae stares at him and he stares back. Somehow, it tastes better than he remembered.

“I take it back, clearly you’ve added something illegal to these baked goods, because this tart’s probably the best thing I’ve ever put into my mouth.” He must be making a face because Wonpil rolls his eyes. “Ugh, so juvenile.”

“You made it so easy!” He laughs.

Wonpil puts the last of the tart into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Honestly, I’m surprised that I’ve never wandered into this place before. I live just down the block.”

“Explains why you came here of all places in search of caffeine.” Jae says, topping off his cup. “Not much of a morning person, huh?”

Wonpil scoffs. “Hell no. The only thing I like less than waking up is eggplant.”

“Wait, you don’t like eggplant?”

“You are in no position to judge me, you’d obviously been in here for a while when I came in this morning. Everyone knows that morning people are barely even human.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m not a morning person.” Jae laughs, “I almost broke my roommate’s nose by mistake the last time he tried to wake me up early on my day off.”

“Then why do the opening shift?”

Jae pauses for a second, looks at Wonpil thoughtfully. “Promise you can keep a secret?”

“Is it illegal or immoral?”

“No, just special.”

Wonpil shrugs. “Sure.”

Jae waves for Wonpil to follow him. The two make their way up the stairs onto the roof of the building. When Jae opens the door, he takes a deep breath of the last chill of night clinging to the air. The sun’s set the sky aflame and the gentle layers of clouds across the sky paint the world in yellows, oranges, pinks, and reds.

“Sometimes, I just come up here and sit while I’m waiting for things to finish baking downstairs.” Jae admits, “I know we’re not that high up, but it’s still pretty.”

“Wow.” Wonpil’s eyes are wide and there’s a look of genuine awe on his face. “It’s beautiful.”

The early light makes Wonpil’s hair glow and the air turns his cheeks a gentle pink. Jae bites back an overly sappy _“You’re beautiful.”_ Turns his face towards the sunrise instead. “It really is.”

The moment’s broken by the sound of Wonpil’s phone vibrating in his pocket. “Oh shit!” Wonpil says, scrambling to reply to the text. “I’ve gotta go.”

Jae opens the door as quickly as he can and Wonpil rushes down the stairs to grab his jacket, pulls it on as fast as he can. “I’m really sorry to run out on you so quickly, but I almost completely forgot I had a meeting this morning.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jae grabs one of the to-go cups and pours Wonpil another coffee. “One for the road.”

Wonpil accepts it without argument. “You really are much too nice for your own good.”

“Like I said before, maybe you’re just special.” The skin where their fingers brush over the cup tingles. “Have a good one.”

“I’ll be back for another one of those tarts if nothing else.” Wonpil says with a smile.

He waves at Wonpil through the big picture windows, who turns back to look at him more than once. When Jae goes to clean up the plate Wonpil left behind, he finds $10.00 left under the empty mug. 

(Maybe Jae was hoping for a phone number, but he'll take what he can get.)

* * *

Jae tries to brush it off as one of those one-off things. An encounter between two souls that cumulates in a perfect sort of moment (holy shit, he really needs to stop letting Brian drag him to those slam poetry nights), but he expects the next time he sees Wonpil, he’ll be just another customer again.

He keeps an eye on the door all morning and tries his best to stamp down the disappointment when Wonpil doesn’t show up. He keeps doing double-takes at blonds and craning his head to look through the window. Jamie notices and threatens to squeeze the story out of him, but a rush of customers come in and he’s briefly saved from an explanation.

Jae’s packing his stuff up to go home at the end of his shift when the door swooshes open and Wonpil walks in. He’s much more alert this time, which makes sense considering it’s 1:00 p.m. His hair’s neatly styled, he’s wearing a sleek turtleneck, and dark jeans, but Wonpil still has the same goofy smile he did when he was half-asleep.

“Hey!” He can’t help the way his own face mirror’s Wonpil’s bright grin. “Back for more?”

“What can I say, the coffee was good, the fruit tart was amazing, and the company wasn’t bad either.” Wonpil leans over the counter so he and Jae are face to face. “I actually got a new French press and was wondering if you’d like to come over for some coffee?”

“Uh, I can’t drink coffee after noon, or I stay awake all night.” He can feel Jamie’s eyes burning holes in the back of his head and actually hears the smack of Kevin’s hand hitting his forehead.

“Well, I can think of a few ways to keep you occupied through the night.” Wonpil says, raising an eyebrow. “Or I can make it for you tomorrow morning. When are you off work?”

“Right now, actually.”

“What a happy coincidence, I’m free too. Wanna get out of here?”

“Hell yes.” Jae pretty much tosses his apron at Kevin in his haste to get out from behind the counter.

Wonpil holds out his hand and Jae takes it in his own. It feels right, makes his heart flutter, and brings a dopey grin to his face. Jamie makes gagging noises from behind the counter and he can hear Kevin scolding her about being a wet-blanket, but Wonpil’s captured pretty much all his attention.

Wonpil turns to look at Jae with a big smile. It’s like the sunrise and Jae already knows that he’s never going to get tired of it. “Ready?”

“Lead the way.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've finally fallen into the coffee shop au. (I mean it's a bakery, but whatever) There's no hope for me, the fluff has consumed my life. (There was never any hope, but let me pretend I write things of substance.)
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/everywinter1)/[Tumblr](https://everywinter.tumblr.com/)/[CC](https://curiouscat.me/everywinter)


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